One Last Time
by pikagurl23
Summary: Former Team Rocket members, Jessie and James, are gathered to remember a dear, old friend and the special times they shared together. *Wrote to honor Maddie Blaustein's memory*


Disclaimer: Don't Own Pokemon!

A/N: Alrighty, so if you haven't already heard (or haven't seen my profile) Maddie Blaustein passed away last December of unknown complications. I only recently found out and was completely taken aback. I couldn't believe that the one that had given Meowth his voice for 8 seasons was gone. So, as a sort of dedication to her memory, I wrote this little one-shot in memory of "Meowth." Enjoy.

**One Last Time**

The sun shone brilliantly in the azure blue sky as a gentle breeze swept through the bustling town of Viridian City. The sun's gentle rays warmed the paved streets and grassy hills of the forest surrounded town as the Pidgey cawed merrily at the beauty and serenity of the day ahead.

The mood, however, was anything but cheery, especially for those occupying a tiny grave site that sat atop the highest hill in the city. The grave, a part of the Viridian City Pokemon Cemetery, was adorned with all types of flowers, their floral scent giving little comfort to those that surrounded the tiny site, tears in the onlooker's eyes and sobs racking their parched throats.

Jessie and James, former Team Rocket members, stood at the forefront, arms wrapped comfortingly around one another as they tried desperately to comprehend where exactly they were. But, it was all too clear for the duo. It was all too real for them; an act of disgust that should have never occurred to begin with. It made them angry and frustrated and just plain upset that something like this had to happen. Perhaps, if they had been stronger, it could have been prevented.

But, alas, the past could not be changed. What one can only do is hope for a better future and remember the things that person taught in their wake.

Or, in this case, that pokemon.

For it was Jessie and James' dearest and oldest friend that they were saying goodbye to; a friend that had stuck by them to the end. He had made the third 'man' in their trio of friends and, looking back, there wasn't too much that distinguished him from a normal human being. He talked, often argued, stood on two legs, and was a good friend to those that cared. But he was gone, and it was this realization that made Jessie and James break down into tears.

Meowth, their friend, partner, and brother in crime, had been killed by one of Giovanni's henchmen. He had been ruthlessly shot at, as if he were just another target on the boss's endless hit list, as if his life held no meaning and his accomplishments, though few, meant nothing. Giovanni, however, had spared Jessie and James, using their partner's death as a clear reminder of the organization they worked for. They had failed 'the boss' one too many times and, as a result, Meowth had paid dearly.

He worshipped 'da boss' and made it his duty to steal as many pokemon for _him_ as possible. Even whilst scheming to steal the rarest of all pokemon, the boss was never far from his thoughts. Jessie and James had to suppress a reminiscent giggle at some of the most outrageous fantasies Meowth had oftentimes dreamt of when referring to their latest plot of stealing pokemon for their, now, ex-boss. He really did have optimism. No matter how many times he and his partners were cannoned into the atmosphere, he always kept a positive front, a quality that Jessie and James could never understand.

But, they figured, it was his loyalties to the boss and his desire to be 'top cat' that made him do it. Though, to Jessie and James, he would always be their number one fan.

And, ironically, in the end, he had suffered at the hands of the one he sought to impress the most.

Lifting her head up from James' embrace, Jessie looked around at the tiny throng of people they had met up over the years. She immediately caught sight of a group of trainers she and her partners had come to know during their long past, if only because they had been their main targets for so long.

Jessie recognized Ash Ketchum, the current pokemon master, standing off to the side, giving her and James some space, while looking down at the ground in sadness. Next to him occupied Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City gym leader and fiancée to the master himself. She stood silently, tears trickling down her pale cheeks, Ash's protective arms wrapped around her small frame.

Jessie caught the master's hesitant, yet sad eyes and gave him a tiny nod, as if she were thanking him for all he had done. After Ash had heard of what had happened to the poor pokemon, he made it his sworn duty to make sure Giovanni was locked up for his crimes and, because of Ash's standing in the League, made sure he never saw the light of day again. It really didn't surprise Jessie that he would be so compassionate once word had spread about Meowth's untimely death. 'The twerp' had always been like that and, it was times like these where Jessie appreciated that part of him the most.

Ash looked back at Jessie and offered her a sympathetic smile, a silent understanding coming between the two former enemies.

Jessie's gaze then shifted behind the current master and caught sight of the sympathetic gazes of his friends. The first she recognized was Brock Slate, one of the top breeders in Kanto and one of the first people Ash had met on his journey. That being the case, he was the one Jessie was most familiar with, other than Ash and Misty, and she silently thanked him as well for offering his condolences. Next, she saw Tracey Sketchit, renowned pokemon researcher and watcher, his head bowed and eyes closed in silent prayer. To his immediate right stood Max and May Maple of Petalburg City, the brother and sister pair that Ash had traveled with throughout the Hoenn region. Dawn Diamond, the blue haired coordinator from the Sinnoh region, stood next to them, her arms folded in front of her, trails of tears streaking down her delicate face.

And, last but not least, Jessie saw that familiar streak of yellow that she, James and Meowth had sought after for so long.

Pikachu sat at its master's feet, sobbing openly for the loss of its friend. Though they had been mortal enemies for many years, the two pokemon shared an inexplicable bond with one another. Behind the scenes, they were good friends and, over the years, they had come to understand each other quite well. Despite their initial bitterness towards the other, Meowth always spoke so highly of the electric type, especially during those instances when the two had been separated from their respective friends. They always worked together to find their friends, even if the ending result _was_ always the same 'blasting off again' sequence.

Meowth respected the rodent. He knew Pikachu had a good heart and that was only evidenced by the fact that his trainer was the same. Pikachu was one to rely on and would never back down, especially if it was in the defense of a friend. It was something Meowth yearned to appreciate, the thought of _helping_ people without the expectation of being repaid. And Pikachu, Meowth knew, had achieved that idea quite well.

But, what Meowth failed to realize in his short life, was that he brought more happiness to his friends than he knew and no amount of money would ever be able to say otherwise.

A tiny thud lifted Jessie from her thoughts as the miniature casket holding her friend had been lowered to the soft dirt below. She turned her head back in the direction of the hole that laid in front of her and gave a small smile, thinking back to the many 'pit fall schemes' her, James, and Meowth had devised for the twerps and found the irony of it all slightly amusing.

James picked up on this and smiled as well, thinking back to all the times the trio had shared together…

"…_Jessie!" the ruby haired teen exclaimed grandly, awaiting her partner's arrival. _

"_James!" said sapphire haired young man, a suave undertone lacing his voice as he held a single red rose in his hand. _

"_Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" _

"_Surrender now or prepare to fight!"_

_Meowth popped out from behind them, a toothy grin dominating his face, as he announced the three words that made him a part of their team, "Meowth, dat's right!"_

_***_

"_The people of Viridian City will be sorry they ever saw _this_ face," James warned, as he stood in the basket of the team's Meowth hot air balloon._

"_We're _all _sorry to see your face. Stay focused! We're here to capture rare and unusual pokemon. Don't forget! Me-owth!" the feline reminded, opening its wide eyes, its paws near its cheeks like a household cat._

_***_

"_Well James, that fiancée of yours is truly despicable," announced Jessie, arms folded as they stood inside the 'living room' of James' Growlithe's dog house._

"_Told ya she's just like Jessie!" countered Meowth, causing Jessie to growl and painfully stretch out the cat-type's face._

_***_

"_I could cook something," Jessie pondered, a finger to her chin in thought. _

_Meowth, eyes slanted, muttered, "Thanks, but the last time you cooked, you wiped out eight of my nine lives."_

_***_

_Meowth bravely confronted the super clone, Mewtwo, and spoke his mind, for what the super pokemon was doing was wrong, "It's only natural to wonder about who and where you came from and, some day, these little ones are going to want some answers, only there won't be any! Not if you're gonna make everybody forget! So what if their parents were clones? They're all living creatures. They deserve to live, and they deserve to know about themselves as much as you, or me, or anybody does. That's what we think!"_

_***_

_Jessie placed her hand on her hip as she laid on her side, a result of the explosion that had just taken place, "Listen to me kid, when you get involved with the opposite sex, you're only asking for trouble." _

_James, smiling giddily and, pointing to himself, responded, "Yes, and that's the kind of trouble I stay out of."_

_Meowth shrugged, "Yous two don't need the opposite sex cause ya got each other!" finishing it with a maniacal laugh as Jessie and James' indignant cries could be heard afterwards. _

_***_

_James stood amidst his partners and the twerps, staring down at the ancient pokemon prophecy with disbelief, "If it _is_ true, all intelligent life will be destroyed!" he announced, looking to Jessie in concern._

"_That's right," she agreed, looking back. _

_James' concern carried into his voice, "And, I'll be--"_

"You_ will be fine," interrupted Meowth, who was seated comfortably on James' head. _

_***_

_As the infamous trio ascended into the heaven's, via a thunderbolt from Pikachu, they shouted their famous exit greeting, a saying that had become all too familiar with those that had encountered the three._

"_We're blasting off again…!!!"_

James smiled a sad smile in remembrance of all the times, good and bad, that he had shared with his two best friends. Jessie and Meowth really had become his adoptive family over the years and he didn't even want to think where he would be had he not run into them all those years ago at the Team Rocket training facility. He had to admit, though those were some of the toughest times in his life, he couldn't imagine himself with two different people.

And he found himself thinking how blessed he was to have met Meowth, the special, talking, human-like pokemon that seemed to have been swept towards Team Rocket's doors by the winds of chance.

It caused the smile on James' face to drop when he realized that it was Meowth's wise-crack personality that he would miss the most. In all their crimes together, whether he was criticizing or planning, the cat always had to have the last word. He could be stubborn and sarcastic and amusing and loveable all at the same time and, James knew, those were qualities that were hard to come by in a single person, let alone pokemon.

Though he now loathed Team Rocket for everything it stood for, he had to admit that, had he not joined, their fates would have never been intertwined.

But now with Meowth, their furry third party, gone from this world, what was left? James felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest to be replaced with utter cold and emptiness. He had never experienced anything like it and it left an eerie feeling of loneliness in his heart, a loneliness that he would never be able to replace, for Meowth was simply irreplaceable.

Suddenly, James felt someone grip his hand tightly and he looked down to see Jessie's tear filled sapphire eyes staring back. She had a tiny smile on her face, as if she were recalling 'the good ole' days' as well, though it didn't mask the fact that she was still terribly upset at the loss of their friend. He squeezed her hand back, giving her a reassuring smile, silently telling her that everything would be okay in the end because, as always, they were a team and needed each other now more than ever.

Besides, the two young rockets knew that their fallen companion would not have it any other way.

Hearing a shuffling from behind, James and Jessie turned simultaneously to be met with Ash, Misty, and Brock. The three 'twerps' whom they had known the longest, the three they had tailed throughout the Kanto region and beyond to the greater cities of Johto, the same kids that they constantly tried to trick on a daily basis…the same kids who were now adults and giving their deepest sympathies to them for their loss.

"We're sorry," Ash finally spoke, his eyes meeting James' and Jessie's separately, "This should have never happened."

James nodded his head, wiping away some of the stray tears on his cheeks, "You don't need to apologize. If anything, we should be thanking you."

"James is right," Jessie sniffled, bringing a tissue up to her eyes, "If it weren't for you, Giovanni would have gotten off for his crime and we would have never been able to avenge Meowth."

"Still…" Ash looked down in sorrow, unable to fully comprehend the pain the two were experiencing, "I'm sorry."

"We should be the ones apologizing to you. After everything we've done over the years, trying to trick you and steal your pokemon…it just—"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Brock interrupted James mid-sentence, giving the pair a sincere smile, "You were only doing your jobs. We knew that."

"But still--" yet Jessie was cut off in her explanations as Misty readily agreed.

"Brock's right," she said, wiping away her own tears of sadness, "We knew you three weren't _really_ bad. I mean, you tried to be, but you weren't."

James and Jessie smiled at this, the first genuine smiles in what had seemed like forever. Their enemies turned friends truly were good people, regardless of how shaky their long past was and, though it would take time, the pair knew that, with good friends beside them, they could get through this.

It was then that Pikachu bounded from behind Ash, a tiny bouquet of flowers in its paws. Walking solemnly up to the grave site, it lowered its ears in sadness, staring blankly at the tombstone that held its occupant.

**Meowth**

**Beloved Friend, Partner, and Pokemon**

**Blasting Off For the Last Time**

**1998-2008**

Dipping its head lower upon reading the heartfelt inscription, Pikachu tossed the bouquet, a collection of cat's whiskers, into the open tomb, forever sealing it along with the cat pokemon it had come to know, and even like, over the years.

"Chu…" it sighed, its black eyes pooling with tears.

Misty picked it up gently, sensing its need to be gathered, and hugged it comfortingly, letting Pikachu's soft fur soothe her as well. She cradled the poor pokemon in her arms, allowing it to cry out into her chest, as it had finally come to the realization that its friend was gone and would never be coming back.

"It'll be okay Pikachu," reassured Misty, stroking its fur comfortingly, though her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Pikachu continued to cling to Misty's clothes, unable to look up for fear of seeing the tomb and breaking down all over again. It wasn't until an unfamiliar hand reached up to pet its head, that it looked up and into the eyes of Jessie.

She smiled at the electric type gently, "Meowth always spoke so highly of you, you know? I think it was one of the reasons he wanted you to join the team so badly. For once, he had someone to talk to, pokemon to pokemon, and I think that made him feel normal about his ability to speak."

"Pi?" it questioned, wiping its dark eyes with its paws.

"Really," James confirmed with a nod, stroking the rodent's fur reassuringly, "You made him feel…special, and not in the way others saw him. Other people thought he was a freak, but to us…" he trailed off, looking to Jessie and smiled, "…he was just Meowth."

Pikachu's eyes lit up slightly as it sat up in Misty's arms. Then, the electric mouse did something no one expected it to do.

It jumped into James' arms, clutching his dress shirt and nuzzling its cheek into his chest soothingly. It purred contently as James, eyes wide with shock, recovered, a small smile coming to the corners of his lips as he brought his hands up to hold the affectionate mouse. He stroked its fur softly, unable to believe that the pokemon he and his team once sought after for so long, was now clutching him as if he were a lifeline. Still, James regarded his shaky past with a nod of his head, ready to forgive himself, as Pikachu had done.

Jessie smiled as well, coming up next to James to pet Pikachu on the head. She had never thought in a million years that the electric type would be so trusting of them and, all at once, she realized Meowth had been right about it all along. Though they had been mortal enemies from the start, Pikachu held no grudges regarding their rocky history and accepted them with open paws, forgiving all past occurrences.

It was very likely a trait it had learned from its trainer, Jessie figured.

And, it was then that Ash extended his hand to James, giving him a sympathetic, yet confident smile.

James simply looked at his former enemy's hand and cocked his head to the side.

"Pikachu forgives you…and so do we," Ash explained, smiling, "Besides, I think it's what Meowth would really want."

James gave the master a genuine smile and nodded, taking his hand in his own and shaking it heartily, a new alliance between the two groups forming.

Ash frowned a bit, before continuing, "I'm only sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

Jessie let out a weary sigh and shook her head, "Better late than never, right?"

Ash, Misty, and Brock smiled, "Right," they answered simultaneously.

Suddenly, Jessie pulled up in front of Ash to engulf him in a hug, "Thank you so much…for everything. You didn't need to do what you did…but you did anyway…" and then she added, with a playful smirk, "…you little twerp."

Ash, surprised at first at Jessie's actions, softened his expression, giving her a laugh and returned her embrace, "No problem. I figured it was the least I could do."

"Pika," Pikachu nodded, agreeing with its trainer and jumping onto his shoulder. It nuzzled Ash's cheek affectionately, receiving a half-hearted laugh from its trainer.

Misty then found the resolve to embrace Jessie, as she had done to Ash, as Brock shook James' hand jovially, smiling at their newly made friends.

Ash took a step back, regarding his group of friends with a light smile as he watched Misty and Brock embrace James and Jessie, respectively. He then turned to the rest of his friends behind him and realized that they had all had experiences, one way or another, with the ex-rocket members and gave them a confident nod, as if to say 'this is a new beginning.'

Tracey, Max, May, and Dawn all observed their friend with a nod of their own, coming to terms with the fact that these people, who had once done anything to steal their pokemon at one time or another, were changed. As Ash, Misty, and Brock had clearly defined, no more hostilities were to exist between their two groups and they all agreed that it would be for Meowth's sake.

Breaking her hug with Brock, Jessie let out a deep breath, wiping away her remaining tears, "Well, I suppose this is the part where we say some more heartfelt words about what a special pokemon Meowth was and how he changed all of us for the better."

James shook his head, "But that's not what he was about. He always had to get that last word in, whether he was insulting me or just plain being sarcastic," he let out a half-hearted laugh before sighing, "Either way, we'll miss him."

The group around him nodded in agreement with James' statement, all wondering how oddly different it would be without the smart talking, witty, alley cat that they had come to know and, eventually, love.

Jessie looked up into the clouded heavens, giving a knowing smile, "I bet he's looking at us right now, giving us that toothy grin of his and having the time of his life with all the yarn balls he could possibly have."

James look up as well, "Yeah…" he sighed, looking thoughtful before continuing, "I just wish we could hear his catty voice one last time…" he trailed off, Jessie nodding in silent agreement.

And, as if on cue a gentle breeze picked up around the group of friends, and, as if being carried by the current of the light winds, they swore they could hear the faint voice of their dear, old friend, an answer to both James' and Jessie's last wish.

"We're Blaustein off again…"

AN: First off, I didn't know what Meowth's birth date was nor did I know any variations or popular last names for Dawn, so please don't complain. And, for all you who don't know this, Maddie actually ad-libbed that last line for the last episode that she and the 'original cast' voice acted for before Pokemon USA took over. Anyway, I think this is one of the quickest one-shots I have ever written, mostly due in part because of how sad and overwhelmed and inspired I was to write something to honor Maddie Blaustein's memory. She provided the voice of Meowth and there could be no substitution. We love you Maddie and you'll always be missed!

**Maddie "Meowth" Blaustein**

**(1960-2008)**

**Always Missed, But Never Forgotten**


End file.
